New solar power initiatives yielding results

BYPL’s 345 kW project has 1,257 panels; set up at a cost of Rs.3.6 crore

On World Environment Day on Wednesday, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit dedicated to the Capital a 345 kW solar energy project under which power distribution company BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) has started generating power through 1,257 solar panels that have been installed on the roof-tops of eight BYPL offices, including seven grid stations and two car parks.

The project costing Rs.3.6 crore has been part funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Delhi Government Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Management Centre.

At an event organised to commemorate the commissioning of the project, it was mentioned that the cost per unit of solar energy is between Rs.8 and Rs.10. This will ensure that BYPL will save around Rs.50 lakh in its power purchase costs annually and would ultimately benefit its consumers in East and Central Delhi.

The grids, where BYPL has installed the solar panels, are at Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, Vikas Marg; Welcome Station, Dwarkapuri; Vivek Vihar, Jhilmil and BYPL’s office in IP Industrial Estate. In addition, solar panels have also been installed at two car parks in Karkardooma.

Calling for promoting renewable energy resources, Ms. Dikshit said: “For our electricity needs, we have excessively used scarce natural resources like coal. We should not think only about ourselves. We should conserve these scarce natural resources for the next generation. Our country is endowed with abundant sunshine. For our electricity needs, we should look towards the sun.”

Power Minister Haroon Yusuf also observed that “installing solar panels atop grid stations is a novel idea,” and expressed confidence that “adoption of this model on a large scale will help Delhi cater to its electricity needs and also help check environmental pollution”.

Lauding the joint initiative, BYPL CEO Ramesh Narayanan remarked: “Roof-top solar power installations will help BYPL meet its Renewable Power Obligation (RPO) targets. In the coming months, we plan to install solar panels atop all our 50 grids in East and Central Delhi. We are committed to finding and encouraging green power solutions.”

A BYPL spokesperson said the “these solar panels have utilised spare roof-top space and would also help reduce heat and help keep the premises cooler”. Moreover, he said, about five lakh units of solar power that would be generated annually would be routed to the grid for distribution to consumers and would result in saving nearly 375 tonnes of coal as it takes around 750 grams of coal to generate 1 unit of electricity.

The discom, the spokesperson said, has also been promoting REAP (Renewable Energy Assisted Pump), a green power solution, capable of meeting water storage and pumping needs of users – in both rural and urban India. “It is an easy to install submersible pump connected to a water tank with a specially designed motor powered by a solar panel.”

In the last few months, 13 REAP pumps have been installed at various Municipal Corporation schools, parks and BYPL office locations and are resulting in saving of nearly 16 kW power.

BYPL has received orders for installing 80 more such REAP solar pumps in various public parks and schools under the MP and MLA Local Area Development Fund scheme. As each solar pump has a capacity of 1.2 kW, they will save 96 kW or around 34,600 units of power per year.

The solar mission must include roof top solar. Insititutions and establishments like AIIMS , IITs, Supreme Court, Parliament etc. offer a lot of roof top solar space, that can be leased to companies for solar generation.